ComicphysicsScience

Power Girl’s Jet Intake

Power Girl.

Get back to me when you’re done laughing.

For those that don’t follow the quagmire that is DC Comics continuity, Power Girl is basically a version of Supergirl for whom the entire structure of existence was rebuilt so that her remarkable assets could grace the pages more often.  What are those assets? Well basically, in the place where Supergirl wore a big ‘S’ like superman, Power Girl wears nothing. Feel how you like about that, I’m not here to pass judgement in that regard. I’m here to evaluate the wisdom of incorporating a jet intake into your supersuit.

A useful tool in fluid dynamics is the nozzle.  Basically a nozzle uses pressure to accelerate fluid by narrowing the channel through which it is flowing.

The head of your garden hose does this, as do water guns, to shoot high speed streams of water.

This doesn’t only work on liquids, it is used on jet engines to accelerate both the incoming air, and the exhaust to a much larger extent.

If we examine the geometry of Power Girl… stop giggling. If we examine the geometry, we notice that the opening in the chest forms a near perfect nozzle.

Power Girls has essentially the same powers as Superman and can fly at ludicrous speeds. This intake seems like it would accelerate a stream of high speed air into her costume and inflate it like a balloon.

You may argue that the costume could be made of some kind of rigid material that would overcome this problem, not so. It has been shown that her costume is made of stretchy fabric.

I considered this position for some time, and then realized that I have a way of testing my theory. I put on the tightest, most superhero shirt that I own, and I shot high speed air down my neck.

So, inflation wouldn’t be a problem. Fabric vents the air pretty effectively. It does, however set the fabric oscillating, same with my skin. It was super uncomfortable. Painful, actually. Given that Power Girl can bounce bullets off her eyeballs, though, I doubt the discomfort would come through as much more than a tickle. The flapping fabric might be an issue, but that would also happen with the flow of air over the exterior of the suit, regardless.

In conclusion, Power Girl’s Jet intake isn’t as silly as it appears. Or perhaps one could say that it is only as silly as it looks. It’s flaws are not structural. They are, at worst, cosmetic.

 

Featured image from DC Comics Gallery

Ryan

Ryan is a professional nerd, teaching engineering in the frozen north. Somewhat less professionally, he is a costumer, author, blacksmith, juggler, gamer, serial enthusiast, and supporter of the Oxford comma. He can be found on twitter and instagram @studentofwhim. If you like what I do here, feel free to leave a tip in my tipjar.

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7 Comments

  1. Bearing in mind that Power Girl appears to wear an all-in-one leotard and not a t-shirt, I’m concerned that every time she flies, she’ll be flashing her vagina.

    And possibly, over time, she’ll stretch the gusset of her leotard so it sags in the crotch.

    She’s going to have problems.

  2. That was my concern too. But even tucked in (the video of that didn’t turn out) my shirt didn’t inflate. It very easily vented the air through the fabric.

    I’m fairly certain that any stretching caused by that nozzle effect would be very localized.

  3. “I’m fairly certain that any stretching caused by that nozzle effect would be very localized.”

    I don’t… Was this… When you wrote this, did you…? Er

  4. This is the second MAL article I’ve read today to invoke ‘crotch nozzle’. Albeit in a sense I can’t say I’ve ever entertained previously.

  5. Power Girl is a Kryptonian. Her body is surrounded by the same energy field generated by her cells as other Kryptonians have. She also has telekinetic abilities than enable flight. Presumably the TK field she generates automatically envelops her in a more aerodynamic shape when flying at high speeds. Therefore her costume, which is not indestructible, would not be affected.

    And of course: http://www.comicsalliance.com/2009/11/23/power-girl-lectures-women-for-complaining-about-her-costume/

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